Let’s be honest. Traveling with kids, especially little ones, is really hard. Your vacation is really a trip when you have babies in tow. However, it doesn’t have to be the worst thing ever that gives you anxiety and keeps you up at night like it did for me! It can be manageable just so long as you have low expectations going into it and prepare yourself with lots of tricks!

We had our first trip with a toddler at the beginning of summer when we took a vacation to Colorado. Let’s just say that it was the WORST flight I’ve had in my life. Picture me in the back of the plane with an insisted & free glass of champagne in my hand while my toddler lay flat on the floor screaming. I’ve learned a lot and have had great practice this summer so no flight has come close to that bad. In fact, they have all been alright.

I wanted to share a few tips with you about traveling with kids: allll the gear you need to bring + some ideas to entertain your toddler on the plane. And in case you missed it, here are my tips for traveling with a baby!

First, one of the best discoveries I had this summer was baby rentals. If you’re going on a trip and want to save yourself from bringing extra things, look up ‘baby rentals’ for whatever city you’re visiting. This will save you lots of headaches. We did this in Florida (ABC Baby Rental) and it was amazing. We had two pack n’ plays delivered to our hotel before we even got there. All set for our arrival and immediate nap time.

Hopefully you have a helping hand traveling with you like I had my husband! I honestly could not do this without him. Decide which of you has which kid before you go!

WHAT TO BRING: (two under two)

Birth Certificate or shot record (if you’re flying Southwest). Most other airlines don’t require this.
Food: I pack a bottle and at least 2 more bottle’s worth of food for M and a million snacks for C.
Pack n’ play (if you don’t have access to one where you’re traveling)
Baby Carrier (still use this with M)
Travel stroller (we are obsessed with our Babyzen and it fits in the overhead bin!)
Change of clothes for you and your kiddos
Carseats: (this has been a major pain for us so we are going to try and rent one for C instead of bringing his because it’s so heavy). Lots of you mentioned different feelings about seat rentals, specifically that they are really gross. Especially for infants. SO- we will do just one next time and see how it goes.
Water bottle:  I always purchase this before we hop on the flight so I have something to fill M’s bottle with a toy for C to play with after it’s empty!
–Diapers, wipes, bottle, sippy cup, and LOTS of snacks 

IDEAS TO PACK YOUR TODDLER:

We went ahead and purchased a Kindle Fire for C even though I had promised myself I never would. But once I became a parent and one to a squirmy toddler, I realized that when it comes to travel, we’ll do just about anything to make it smooth sailing. He hasn’t expressed a ton of interest in it, but we’ll take any 5 minute break we can get. Side note: a lot of airlines don’t have Wi-Fi so make sure to download some games and shows ahead of time. We love the Peekaboo farm animals.

Go to the dollar store and load up on goodies!

-bandaids
-stickers
– toy car
-crayons and blank paper
-finger puppets
– pipe cleaners (and loop cheerios on them)
– toy calculator
– playdough (if you don’t think your toddler will chuck it at someone)
–water wow book

Other toddler tips:

We try to wait before boarding the plane so we spend less time on it. Charlie gets SO restless in the aisle. Even with some of these fun toys, he gets frustrated being confined to a small space. What I learned through these flights is that the rules can bend and change when you’re traveling. Instead of saying NO firmly, redirect redirect redirect. We even found ourselves pulling up youtube videos of a fan spinning because our kiddo would sit there mesmerized by it. When he got bored of that, we would spend time turning lights on and off (luckily people aren’t bothered by this since the light is so minor and also, your kid isn’t screaming).

Getting your stuff into the airport:

We usually park and carry all our stuff in but if you have a ton of stuff, I recommend getting one of you dropped off to check everything and the other parking (if you choose to park at airport). It takes a little extra time but saves your back a bit of ache!

A few of you recommended this for easy travel with a carseat. The benefit of having our stroller was having extra room to place backpacks, etc. But we might try the caddy down the road!

Get to the airport early. You don’t want to be frazzled and dealing with two littles who don’t understand your impatience. If you have extra time and maybe a child who needs to burn off some energy, take him walking while your sidekick sits with the baby.

Give yourself a break. Attitude is everything and just have low expectations because then anything different will be a pleasant surprise. Remember that most people are understanding and the ones that aren’t- well, you’ll never see them again!

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you have questions in the comments.

baby travel traveling with a baby traveling with kids traveling with two under two